Trump administration wants to remove regulations on a super planet-heating gas

Key Points:

• The Trump administration is proposing to significantly roll back a 2023 Biden-era EPA rule designed to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas drilling sites nationwide, citing cost savings and increased domestic drilling as benefits.
• Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, estimated to be 80 times more impactful than carbon dioxide over 20 years, and the Biden rule aimed to curb these emissions to combat climate change.
• The EPA's rollback includes cutting the "Methane Super Emitter Program," which would have enabled third-party monitoring of large methane leaks starting in 2027, potentially making it harder for the government to detect and prosecute major leaks.
• The proposal also loosens regulations on methane emissions from low-producing "marginal" oil wells, which new technology shows are responsible for a significant portion of methane pollution despite assumptions they emit little.
• While the oil and gas industry supports the rollback for regulatory relief, environmentalists warn that reducing methane capture efforts could ultimately cost the industry more and harm energy security and public revenue.